CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 9,512 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 391,670 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,512 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.14% of Essential Utilities worth $14,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth about $102,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Essential Utilities by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,091,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,245,256 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new position in Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter worth $52,355,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.5 %

WTRG traded down $0.22 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.97. 1,944,948 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,467,279. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.73 and its 200 day moving average is $37.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.18 and a 12 month high of $41.78.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. Equities analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.